


Gods Damned

by lsem



Category: American Gods (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2018-11-17 13:17:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11276052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lsem/pseuds/lsem
Summary: Anansi aka Mr. Nancy and Bilquis, the Goddess of Love, both traversing life and war in America. A series of sometimes unrelated one shots involving my favorite characters from the book and recent television show American Gods.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first story in the American Gods fandom and I guess you're owed a bit of an explanation. This was a completely spur of the moment ship that I began to rationalize as the television series progressed. Though there's no evidence in the book or show that says they'll even meet I'm still very interested in these two very different characters and how things could pan out between these very old Gods.

“Wednesday sent you.” Bilquis said, she had been expecting one of her dates to meet with her, had prepared herself for a different meeting than this one. When a boisterous trickster God slunk inside the smoky bar instead she was tempted to flee, and did, that was until he knocked on her door upstairs from the bar. She was faced with two options, jumping out the window or talking to him.

Damn, it had been years since they talked. It had ended as it always did, with her storming out. Nothing got under her skin quite as easy as the trickster God. She would crush him under her heel if she had the actual opportunity, but all their livelihoods were at risk, they needed all the Old Gods they could get, Anansi included. 

“Of course he did. Thinks we’re friends.” He said and ducked, sliding under her arm and turning all in one fluid movement. Bilquis gripped the door handle tightly but did her best to remain calm, to keep her composure, to be the Queen she would always be. 

“Why would he think that? What did you tell him?”

“Told him all the old Gods fell on hard times, thought you might be interested.”

“A war is coming, I just want to keep my head down and stay out of it.” Bilquis said, it wouldn’t be the first war and certainly not the last but she wanted to stay out of it regardless.

“And just how long you expect to hide?” He asked looking around her room, his eyes focused on the bed at the back wall, how the candles illuminated it. “Even I picked up on the missing persons ads. You think they won’t find you and end you once and for all.”

“I’ll be fine just like you’ve been fine.” 

“This isn’t fine and they damn sure ain’t gonna be nice when they come for you. You should die on your feet rather than on your ass, or in your case, on your back.” He said and she walked over to him running at full force to slap him. As if she had wanted to be reduced to these horrible transactions.. He had always been so brash, and thought without speaking. For a supposed great storyteller he acted so foolish at times. 

He caught her hand, his human form slipping as his chelicirae retracted before her, opening his dripping maw to reveal wisdom and the heart of man, which was pure darkness, deep unending darkness. It was frightening, it was beautiful. Anansi was so much more than a myth, more than a child’s story, he was frightening, he was beautiful. He had stolen from the Gods to give to man and what had he gotten in return? He had been forgotten.

“We could be great together. Makeda and Anansi. Love God and Trickster God, got a nice ring to it, don’t it?” He said, a million visions of Anansi passed over her eyes. He was the stranger watching her in the crowds, a child begging for scraps, the elder at the center of town, and a patron, one who had come to lay sacrifice at her altar at least once, and tried to swindle her out of a sacrifice at a completely different time.

“I don’t trick people.”

“Do you think they’d really come here if they knew what was gonna happen? Ain’t no piece of tail that good.” Anansi said and released her hand, he hadn’t looked away from her eyes and she smirked at him. In his form, his true form, he was still a God, an old God, but one who had come to pay his respect at her altar at one time another. For him. For his people. For Nyame. It wouldn’t be the first time he risked his life and pride for his people and they had forgotten, nor would it be the last. 

Bilquis thought long and hard about what such a union with such a God would mean. What was a world without stories and love? Both required human connection and sacrifice at one time or another. Separate they were fine but together they would outlast the ages, the people, the ability to pass on stories of their greatness and love they had for their world and their subjects, that was damn near untouchable Even the new Gods couldn’t beat that. “What’s that look about?”

“I must be going crazy, actually considering working with you.”

“With me? No, for Wednesday.”

“Wednesday and I have our own issues. I’ll be dealing with you and you only.” Bilquis said immedaitely setting the terms.

“… There’s this new kid.” Wednesday said as he looked out the window before looking back at her. 

“I know, but does he know? How long will you keep Shadow in the dark?”

“Makeda some things never change.” He said smiling at her, of course it was better to keep certain people in the dark until they were of use, “And I thought you didn’t keep your ears to the street.” He said and straightened his hat. “Well…”

“Well what?”

“Get ready. Time to go,” He said and tapped his watch, the damned thing looked fake and she assumed it was, “I hope you didn’t think I was gonna leave you here.”

“I can get there just fine.”

“And what type of gentlemen would I be if I let you go by yourself?”

“You’re a gentleman now?”

“Always have been, in my own way…some of the times…maybe..” He said and spun slipping into his form, his true form, as he rested on her shoulder. “And I’d take the backdoor.”

“Why?”

“That white boy with the crazy hair was outside.”

“I’d be better off jumping out the window.”

“If you think it’d save us time, sure. Go for it.”


	2. We need to talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilquis goes to visit Anansi at his place in Memphis, against his better judgment he lets her in, as if he ever had any other choice but to do that.

It was dangerous for a God to sleep. Sometimes you woke up and your place of worship had been vandalized and abandoned and your people have long since forgotten you, other times you woke up in a completely different place with no idea of how long it had been and how you were there. So he was grateful to wake up inside his shop each morning, he ran it out of his home and on a need to know basis. If somebody wanted a good suit they came and found him. However this is a day he wished he’d been left alone, it was raining but then again it was always raining now. They were coming to the eye of a very dangerous storm.  
There was a shy knocking sound coming from his front door. He assumed it was one of those damned kids asking for more needles, of course he’d give it to him but they had no real use with them. All thoughts of crazy children or just what the media was doing to their mind stopped short as she stood there. He knew she was nearby, he could feel it, and he knew her story but then again he knew everyone’s story. 

“You shouldn’t be here.” Anansi said.

“Am I not allowed inside?” She asked as if too much time hadn’t passed between them, as if things could simply go back to how they used to be. There had been a time when he would open the door with a bottle of Jack Daniels ready to recount old times, but as the storm gathered more and more momentum it seemed like that time in their Godly lives had passed altogether.

“The phone stays outside.” He said, he knew her story all too well and knew what she was capable of but when she blinked those large brown eyes up at him he felt as weak as her entire harem, like someone was snatching the carpet right from underneath him

“Of course.” She said and took the phone out of her pocket placing it outside the door. Before she could even close the door behind herself he made up his mind.

“No.” He said with no prompting at all.

“I haven’t even asked for anything.”

“The answer is no, you’re working for them so the answer is no. No, no, no, a million times no.” 

“It’s just a dress.” Bilquis said.

“A dress?” He said, stopping short of his desk, he was intrigued and she knew he loved to keep his hands busy.

“You can still sew or did you forget little Anansi?” She asked, oh he knew his name very well and even better what he was underneath the suit and southern accent. She knew it well too, they had been friends once and could be cordial but this war drew lines and when lines were drawn things got ugly. War was always ugly.

“What type of dress?” He asked curiously, he held out his hand and the measuring tape snapped flew from across the room into his palm.

“What dress would be best for weather in Wisconsin this time of year?” She asked.

“We’re not talking about that, not now.”

“We must.”

“We’re. Not.” He said, she always wanted her way but there was no way he could bend this time.

“None of our old friends talk to me, I know you’d say something.”

“There’s a reason they’re not talking to you.” He said and smirked.

“So you blame me too?” She said and folded her arms across her chest, she may have been a Queen but she still had the attitude of a Princess at times. Life may have tried to humble her but it could never take that aspect away from her. 

“Makeda, you know I don’t blame you. If they fell on hard times they’d jump at it in a second, I would too.”

“Quit bullshitting me, Anansi. You’re too proud for that.”

“Maybe so but it doesn’t mean I hate you.” He said and stopped in front of her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked down at her. “Now take off your clothes.”

“Only if you talk to me about Wednesday.”

“He’s pissed.” He said and began to take her measurements, turning her body how he wanted, measuring her and she swore she felt a pair of those familiar phantom arms grip her hips to steady her before he walked over to his desk. She began to slip out of clothes, folding them and placing them in the chair beside her.

“At me?”

“You could turn the tide of the war if you were on our side.” He said in the knowing voice of his, he never asked but he surely did have a way of suggesting with just the slightest change of the tone of his voice.

“What if I was on your side?” Bilquis asked, and honestly pondered what it would be like to work beside someone like him, a man and God with a past only he knew fully. 

“You’re not.” He said as he penciled in her measurements. “You’re on your side, which I can respect.”

“No you can’t.” She said and looked through him as she tied the sash on her robe angrily, she walked over to his desk and watched him work, she had enjoyed watching him work before and he was good at it. 

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you feel like I’m betraying you.” Bilquis said, things didn’t used to be this way, she could damn near sit in his lap while he sewed and he’d only tell her to tilt her head left or right. They’d go out partying together and when it came time for sacrifices he’d disappear but reappear later, much later, but he had been there. Anansi was always there, he was as reliable as Spring.

“Are you sure you aren’t projecting your own insecurities onto me? You know who I am, what I’ve done. I know every story there is to know and will be except this one, which is unnerving. The slightest change can alter everything for everyone, so I’m walking into this blind, very blind and I’m trusting you.” He said and moved from the table as he gathered bundles of fabric and began to compare them. 

“Trusting me to do what?”

“Do whatever it is that you’re going to do.” 

“And if I don’t have a plan?”

“I doubt that, A Queen always has a plan, but if you don’t,” He sighed and sat down in front of the sewing machine, “Doesn’t hurt too much when you send people over to the other side that way, does it?”

“Never got any complaints, but never got any reviews afterward either.” She said and returned to her seat across the room. “How’s Wednesday’s man?” Bilquis asked.

“He’s getting it, slowly but surely.” 

“And you?”

“Me? What about me?”

“How have you been?” She asked, he looked up at her curiously but only shook his head as if he couldn’t believe the question. 

“Been a long time since anyone asked me that.” He said but he hadn’t told her and it hurt to think that her old friend, the reliable trickster God was shutting her out, she fell asleep to the sounds of him at work. The cutting of fabric, the hum of the sewing machine, the sound of him pacing the floor as he drank his coffee. It set her back into an old pattern she was uncomfortable remembering but it was still soothing, back before the hard times began and when she still could think of herself as a Queen.

She awoke as he was half way finished with the golden dress. It was beautiful, appeared to be some sheer silky material, it brought her back to when she had a slew of priestesses at her disposal to do her bidding. He looked up from the sewing machine and did a double take.

“The Queen has risen.” He said with a lazy smile on his face.

“In more ways than one.” Bilquis said and rubbed her stomach. “Have anything to eat?”

“I don’t eat much, not much reason to.” He said, she had always complained he was much too thin and needed to eat more, she had even cooked for him but she got the feeling he ate the food out of respect rather than to satiate his hunger.

“We could have dinner.”

“Could we now?” He said as if talking to a child. 

“Talk maybe.” She said trying to remain calm and not be angry with him.

“We’re talking now, but they really must have shunned your ass, huh? If you’re dying to talk to a lowly spider god of Chaos.”

“There aren’t many of us left, and you never chose sides, even when you should have.” 

“I’ve taken a side.” He said and the machine stopped going as he raised his hand, a spool of thread flew off the shelf and into his hand and then he was right back to work. “Might not be the side you’d like.”

“I remember when you weren’t such a pacifist.”

“Do I look like Jesus Christ to you?” He asked as he re threaded the needle, “Don’t confuse caution for complacency, and don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.”

“Hard not to. You were Kwaku Anansi and now you’re a tailor.” She said growing tired with him, he was hurting her with his words, it was only fair that she hurt him back.

“And you’re a pawn, we can be two things at once. I can love and remember you and despise and want better for you.”

“I lost it all.” BIlquis said standing up as she made her way over to the window.

“And I didn’t?” He said as he finished the last of the dress. One moment he was at his desk and the next he was standing behind her holding out his dress to her. “I was a God, they took my people and made them slaves, they took my stories and gave them to a damned animated bunny. I gave these motherfuckers stories and wisdom and what do I have to show for it? A fucking purple shirt? Some shiny buttons? Not even a proper shop, and haven’t had a damned proper tribute in decades.”

“So you’re bitter?” She asked as he snapped his fingers, the golden robes disappeared and were replaced with the dress, it was a backless golden number that clung to her body but was modest enough to leave something to the imagination. 

“Not bitter, angry.” He said and took a step back to look at her. 

“Anger is a weakness.”

“Anger gets shit done.” He said and handed her the black pumps she had come in with. “And we’re at war baby, we’re gonna need lots of anger and I got it by the boatload.”

“What made you settle here?” Bilquis asked, she was encroaching of dangerous territory of talking about the war. Anansi may have cracked jokes and filled the room with tears or with laughter but he was an old God who had hoisted many into much more treacherous games. The names of Gods, old Gods and Kings had been replaced with Animals and ancient tribes names. He’d live through wars, human and god alike, and remained a contender. He hoisted his enemies up and devoured them in town squares, watched their lifeless bodies hang from silk webbing he made and offered them as tribute to Nyame, the Sky God. He was also the keeper of stories, he had given them to humans but had the ability to sway opinions about minor details, yet the devil was always in the details and the spider always weaved his own tales. He was dangerous in a way none of the New Gods knew.

“Memphis is rich in history and music, and music is just a story with a lot more distractions.” He said and looked out over the busy street at the people scurrying like ants. “Easy to blend in here too, people can barely tell me from the mailman.”

“Not a nice feeling being forgotten, is it?” Bilquis asked, he may have made it sound and look easy but they were Gods used to idolization and worship and being treated in such a way took not just a blow to their pride but their health. He wasn’t that thin and not eating just because it appeared to be in style at the moment, he was being forgotten and the pressure was weighing on him.

“Not forgotten, not yet.” He said more so for himself than her, they stood there in silence for a while before finally looking at one another. A million visions of the man passed over his face; he was the young field hand, the dancer, the chieftain, and finally a very young spider God with too much fire and mouth to contain. She wondered what he saw when he looked at her, friend or foe, enemy or friend, Queen or Makeda. She still cared even though this war was going on, she wondered if he did, if this would be the last time he opened his home to her. “You remember me, you come and see me, try to talk to me and even give me something to do, getting me all riled up about things we can’t change.”

“Yes, I do, and such tribute should be repaid in a meal.” She said playfully.

“Me? You the one with the white people money.” He said and pulled on his suit jacket. “Need something that will stick to these old bones.”

“You’re still a thin ol’ bean pole, Anansi.”

“Yeah, and there’s a story in that. Actually I used to be shorter, see what happened was…” He said starting another story as they headed out the front door bypassing the ringing phone. They would go and eat, and then dance and reminisce about a continent they hadn’t seen in many years. 

They laughed, and drank and remembered basking in a much more fulfilled memory of their former selves. They took advantage of time because it was always fleeting and also it was coming to a point when they wouldn’t drink and eat and be merry, they’d fight and kill and go head to head in ways only the Old Gods understood.

“See you around.” He said as he dropped her off near the bus station. He had hugged her close to him, his phantom arms hugging her like they had years ago, they were close in ways he couldn’t be with Wednesday or the other gods. She hadn’t wanted to leave because she knew what would happen next and she had a feeling he did too.

“Yeah, see you soon.” She said, she forgot about the ringing phone she left outside the door. Anansi had no intentions of returning when he knew he had been compromised, there was nothing wrong with a fresh start. Besides, he heard Wisconsin was lovely this time of year.


	3. In which she does

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Playing around with the idea of what might happen if Bilquis turned up in Wisconsin on the side of the Old Gods, and just how Anansi might deal with it.

Shadow hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her the moment she walked in. On the surface she was like anyone else but there was something about her that called out and made him pay attention. Few Gods and Goddesses had answered Wednesday's call and were standing around the old dusty, smoke filled cabin waiting for the festivities to begin. Shadow was surprised Anansi hadn't made his way to the front of the small crowd to start a story, seemed the man couldn't live without telling a story, he was almost as bad as Wednesday. It was only the distinct laughter of the trickster God that brought him back to reality. The man took a seat next to him and continued to cackle

"What's so funny?" Shadow asked.

"You, as usual." Anansi said.

"Who's that?" Shadow asked and nodded his head towards the woman, she was the only one here who it didn't hurt to look at. Whenever he saw her he felt at ease while everyone else seemed to be split images melding into one uncomfortable realization.

"Which who?" Anansi asked. "There's a lot of people here, a lot of stories."

"Her." Shadow said and he caught her eye, she smiled at him but soon her smile fell as soon as her eyes landed on Anansi.

"Oh. Her." Anansi said, "You're out of your league, boy."

"That you are." Wednesday said as he walked around them. "Nancy and her got history."

"We do not." Anansi said and straightened his tie.

"What? You don't want to tell him the story? It's a riveting tale, story of the year at least, Shadow." Wednesday said and then looked over to where she was sitting. "Bilquis! Would you mind coming here?"

"I actually would, I mind being here at all." She said loud enough for her voice to carry, she stood with her head high, shoulders squared and pushed back. She was the Queen Mr. Nancy had suggested he get, they had Ostara but there was room for more than one Queen, right?

"Nancy needs you." Wednesday said and turned around to wink at Shadow, of course the lie worked and she made her way over to him with her clutch under her arm. "This is--"

"Shadow." Bilquis said and held out her hand, Shadow took it in his and kissed it. He wasn't sure what led him to greet her in such a way but she didn't look put out about it. He'd do anything just for her to smile at him like that. "Nice to meet you."

"I assure you the pleasure is mine." Shadow said, the longer he looked at her the longer he wanted to be around her. There was no war, dead wife, craziness, or even House on the Rock. There was just this beautiful woman who he couldn't take his eyes off of. He wondered if she was a succubus of some sort, if so he'd gladly give himself over to her.

"I was just telling Shadow here how you and Anansi met, remind me again." Wednesday said. "Nancy's being incredibly shy and much too modest."

"You're going to tell the story anyway." Nancy said under his breath shaking his head in disbelief.

"Anansi and I have known each other for a very long time." Bilquis said and took a seat beside the trickster God. "It started when he snuck into my village. Nyame wondered what was happening to his men that he sent to plunder my cities."

"Nyame?" Shadow questioned.

"The sky father." Nancy said and his eyes dropped to the floor, oh it had been years since he had heard the name.

* * *

 

Bilquis closed her eyes and felt her power grow as her harem fulfilled her finally. She enjoyed the humans, their food and drink and then eventually the life force they gave her. Another horde of soldiers who expected to find some King with a legion of guards were stopped when they found only her and her harem. It didn't take long for the guards to settle in, with all the food and drink they could want along with women and men of their choice it wasn't long before they finally met her. She greeted every last one, their smiling faces burned in her mind as they sought to devour and destroy her but in the end it was them that would no longer be.

Bilquis would have gotten up and greeted the young priestesses and prepared for a bath and a meal but she felt something in the room more than she heard it, there was another being here, she scoured the room looking for the person who she had missed. Her eyes fell on a darkened corner of the temple where a spider lay.

"Kwaku Anansi, as I live and breathe." Bilquis said and walked over to him.

"You're smart." He said and left the shadows as a man, a well dressed man draped in a fine gold shawl.

"Can't stay in this business if you aren't." Bilquis said, "Are you hungry?"

"I... Will accept your food if you offer it."

"You don't seem like you were here for tribute. What brings you here?" Bilquis asked, "You are Nyame's favorite after all."

"His men keep going missing, guess I know where they're going." Anansi said, "I thought the rumors were lies. You really do kill men."

"It is not a painful experience, little spider." She said and placed her hand on chin and ran it down his chest, "I do many things but bring pain is not one of them. Did they look like they were in pain?"

"No, I guess not." Anansi said unsure of this feeling. He knew she was a Goddess of Love and the power she had was uncanny but Nyame had not prepared him for this. She was more beautiful than every woman he had passed by on his way here, her words were honeyed, and her aura inviting.

"We can discuss my demands of your Nyame." She said and stared up at him, her eyes shone like all the stars in the night sky. He'd know. He had put them there after all.

"Nyame does not negotiate, compromise is not a possibility."

"Oh, little spider, where will you get in life without compromising?" She asked and then clapped her hands twice, there were two chairs that materialized out of thin air and she took a seat in hers while he sat down slowly, he wondered the true strength of her power. He was drawn to her but he feared her too. Just what could she do? How was she able to protect such a vast dynasty with just that singular talent? "Is that what your Nyame taught you?"

"What do you know of Nyame?"

"I know he's old and that he wants to destroy me." Bilquis said and it was true and all that needed to be known. When Nyame needed someone dispensed he sent in his secret weapon.

"He sees you as a formidable force. He thinks..." Anansi realized his mouth was getting ahead of him. Was this her true skill? DId she lead others to become so caught up in her that they forgot themselves, so daze and intrigued by not just her beauty but the power and influence that they exploited themselves before she even had the chance.

"I see that brain working." Bilquis said with a brilliant smile.

"You have no intention of compromising, do you?"

"Oh, I do. I'm going to send you back alive." She said and held out her hand, a young priestess arrived with a tray of food, she took the bread and split it in half offering a generous portion to it. "If push comes to shove, you didn't get permission to come in here from me or my priestesses and I'm well within my rights to reach into that false body and rip out whatever you have to give me."

"You think you could lay a hand on me?" He asked, he was prepared to run out of this body and make his way back to his own.

"Already have." She said and looked down to his chin where a black inky smudge marked him. He'd been marked and would be bound not just to this body but this temple if she so willed it;

"So when do I get to leave?" He asked, he wasn't sure what cunning he could use to get out of her clutches.

"When I'm ready." She said and nibbled on bread and then smiled at him, it was a cloyingly sweet smile. The type of smile that meant she had gotten over not just on him but Nyame as well.

"And when will that be?" he asked.

"After we eat, possibly." She said and stood up and clapped her hands, the chairs disappeared and he fell to the floor, he scrambled to his feet as quickly as he cold. "Will you eat with me?"

"If that is your wish." He said visibly irritated by her arrogance and followed her as she turned quickly on her heel. The temple was a lot more extensive than he preiviously saw. The ritual chamber was just one facet of these beautiful temple.

"Tell me a story." She said as they came to a circular hallway with four different directions to travel. The marble walls were lit up with torches as she continued down the hall.

"I have many stories."

"Is it true you put the sun, the stars and the moon back in the sky." She asked and stood before two grand golden doors.

"My people and yours alike need things, sometimes it's stories, sometimes it's things to incite the stories." Anansi said. He stared around in awe at her personal quarters. There were two blinded priestesses in the corner of the room who stood silent and motionless, he was tempted to wave his hand in front of their face. The walls were golden, the bed sat high off the ground and there were many different portraits, portraits from stories that had yet to be told and from worlds that had yet to be. "So you don't just take their bodies."

"They give themselves to me, I give them love and they give me everything they are, memories, emotions, pain and happiness, I take it all.." Bilquis said and sat down on the edge of the bed. Anansi was unsure if he was to sit with her but by the way she patted the spot beside her he was sure she wanted him to, he looked to her priestesses before walking slowly over to her. "There is so much love in the world, Anansi."

"Won't always be that way."

"I know." She said, "So tell me a story while I decide."

"Decide what?"

"What to tell your Nyame." She said and so he did. She laughed loudly and weeped as well, she was much like the humans but with their emotional output turned up entirely too high. She was a Godess and one of the best in the business she should have had better control over pesky emotions.

"And that's how the world came to be flooded." Anansi said ending his story. She sat up in the bed cross legged smiling at him and something in that borrowed body of his trusted her, would trust her for much longer than he should have, there were no tricks on her end but it was her eyes. They lit up the exact way the stars did as he tossed them into the air.

"Can I leave?"

"Oh, no I'm not letting you go yet." She said with a brilliant smile on her face.

"Why not?" He asked trying not to wine, he was sure many hours had passed now but that was no reason to sound and ac tlike a child. He was getting angry now, how long was she going to keep him hostage, how long would he be entangled in this.

"You're angry?" She said, she sat on the bed with her legs crossed. She was truly confused about why he was angry, for all the humans that she had absorbed over time she still seemed completely unaware of why he would be upset. He'd met many princesses and Queens and this was either a ploy or she was a fool, and fools didn't live very long even if they were Gods.

"Anger gets results, gets shit done, Love Goddess."

"I didn't send you here. Why would you be angry with me?" She said and pouted before tapping her chin, she rushed from the bed and returned with a water basin. "I'll send you back with one rule."

"And what's that?"

"You come and see me three times a year and tell me stories."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll have your people slaughtered." She said with those damned bright eyes. The Goddess of love could be cruel and it wasn't that she would have them murdered in the middle of the night, she'd lure them here and slaughter them in a different way. Love made people do cruel things. She'd lure his people here and do away with them leaving motherless and fatherless children, and with no one to pass the stories everything including Anansi would fade in obscurity. She brought some of the purified and blessed water to his chin and removed the stain but nothing changed. He was still angry but in awe of this woman, of this fucking Queen.

"What do I tell Nyame?" He asked.

"Stop sending troops and start sending you if he wishes for a treaty with our people." She said and he agreed to those term. He relieved himself of that human form and took the comfortable form of a small desert spider, he weaved a web and stepped through it taking him directly home to the Sky Kingdom. He told Nyame what she wanted, he expected him to rant and rave, instead he chuckled and said it was a befitting tribute. It would be the beginning of a strained relationship with the Sky Father.

So three times out of the year he came to see her, crossing the continent to visit her. Normally they'd sit and talk before she asked for her story, and eventually it came to a point where she didn't ask for the stories but only wanted to talk to him about his world and how he felt. How strange was that? Everyone asked him for his stories, for his help, for the rain and the sunshine but no one asked him what he felt. It made him more introspective, it put him in touch with emotions he hadn't felt since he was a godling. He feared what this might be when he began to make more trips to see her without being asked. Did this make them friends and did a Queen and Goddess as well known and loved as her need a friend like him?

* * *

 

"The two were inseparable." Wednesday said.

"We were for a while." Bilquis said and Anansi hadn't looked away from her but the man didn't appear to be nearly as affected as Shadow was.

"You two dated?" Shadow asked.

"Looks don't account for brains do it?" Anansi said and chuckled. "We're friends."

"Then that means she's available?" Shadow asked, if he was shot down so be it but it was worth a try. He stepped towards Bilquis giving her a toothy grin.

"Not on your life or mine." Wednesday said and stepped between Shadow and Bilquis. "You're my man, the last thing I need is any mysterious disappearances."

"People only disappear if I want them to." Bilquis said and then looked to Anansi. "Gods too, but I didn't think we came here to talk about that. Anansi was convinced you needed a Queen."

"The more the merrier." Wednesday said and began to lead Shadow away as if he were eager to have him meet more of his old friends. Shadow looked back to see that the Goddess took a seat beside Anansi on the rickety bench and placed her hand on his shoulder but Anansi appeared irritated, Shadow looked away from them for a second to listen to Wednesday and when he looked back they were gone. He wondered just where she went and what Anansi was saying to her, he hoped he wasn't being too harsh. 

* * *

 

"You think coming here was a good idea?" Anansi said from the back of the room. He needed to get away from the prying eyes of the boy and Wednesday. He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, he should have been happy to see her but he was not. Everything was snowballing too quickly and this would not end well for any of the Gods involved. 

"You said a Queen always has a plan."

"Typically a good one. You think them motherfuckers just going to let you go, Makeda?" He asked, "They're not playing, they want us all under their heel."

"They want me to take Shadow. If there is no shadow then there is no war."

"Well color me impressed you didn't invite him to the bathroom." He said and took another deep inhale of the cancer stick. "Unless you still plan on it?"

"No, of course not, who do you think I am?" She asked giving him that puzzled look, her eyebrows knitted together as if she hadn't damned entire civilizations, as if her bloodline still didn't walk the face of this earth. Oh, she could play innocent with everyone else but not him, he knew her too well. 

"A fucking Queen." He said as he finished one cigarette and popped another one between his lips.

"One you don't trust anymore?"

"We're not doing this, not here, in front of all our friends." Anansi said, "You know I trust you."

"More than Wednesday?"

"What part of we're not doing this aren't you getting? You know what will happen if we all go under, if we agree to their demands they decide if we live or die, if we exist or don't and that's no way for a God to live."

"And I've agreed with them once upon a time so I don't get a say on how I'm affected now, is that how it goes?"

"You can't play both sides."

"I'm not, I've picked my side and it's right here with my people." Bilquis said and gave him a pointed look as Wednesday made his way to the front of the room. Anansi believed her, he knew she was in debt to those fucking kids but he wanted her, so much time had passed and he needed her by his side again. No one treated him the way she did or looked after him the way she could. "Looks like your man is speaking."

"Not my man, our man." Anansi said and blew out the smoke and listened as Wednesday addressed them all. "We're in this together."

"Just like old times."

"Something like old times."


	4. In Which She Doesn't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilquis arrives in Wisconsin and has to make good on her end of the bargain, but will fate or an old spider intervene first?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toying around with the idea of what might happen if Bilquis does go to WIsconsin. She doesn't have many options or choices at this point and I'm more than sure she's working with the new Gods long enough to turn on them. Still, I'm sure that makes Shadow the easiest target.

Shadow stared down into his drink, he had been relieved of his duties for the night while his boss found some young flaxen haired girl to occupy himself with. The bar was dark, small, and cramped but with enough people where he didn't have to worry about being bothered. Then again Shadow was a big guy so being bothered was inevitable. He just hadn't expected it to be a woman like her, he looked up from his shot glass and saw this beautiful woman sitting beside him nursing a screwdriver. She had full lips and rich brown skin, her hair tumbled down her back as she stared at him out the corner of her eye.

"You from around here?" Shadow asked.

"No, I'm not from the area." She said, she stopped nursing the screwdriver and faced him. She was beautiful from the side but facing her head on meant accepting she was drop dead gorgeous, his mouth went dry just looking at her. He took this time to save face and sip his beer. "What's your name?"

"Shadow." He said.

"That's your real name?" She asked, she looked genuinely puzzled but nothing could mar beauty like that, not even the way her brows were drawn up and her face twisted in confusion.

"My mother liked the name, and I loved my mama so I kept it. It fits."

"A man who respects his mother is one worth keeping." She said and then her eyes dropped down to his hand. "I don't see a ring on your hand? Are you single?"

"Are you?" Shadow asked, Laura was his wife, his dead-but-not-so-dead wife, and he would always love her but he seemed hypnotized and in a daze with this woman here. Laura and any memories of her lay on the peripheries of his memory and in the moment there was only him and the mystery woman who hadn't told him her name. He ached for her in a way he had never felt for another woman, he'd do whatever she asked, wherever she wanted, even in that filthy bathroom if she wanted to. "You're just so beautiful."

"I've been told that once or twice."

"I've never... Shit. I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I've never felt this way before."

"I'm sure you tell all the girls this." She said and hopped down off the stool, he followed after her and grabbed her hand to stop her. He wasn't sure what it was but he didn't want to let her go ever, she seemed to be a light in a world of darkness. She was shorter than him and thin in a way he hadn't been in many years, but he'd let her rule him like a Queen, like a Goddess, if she wanted to. "What do you want from me Mr. Shadow?"

"Just you." He said, he'd never been more sure about anything. Wednesday. Easter. Media. Mr. World. It was all a blip on the map but this woman here and now was everything.

"Are you sure about that?" She asked, she cocked one eyebrow and smiled at him and he released the breath he had been holding. He would have abandoned Wednesday, Laura, the new and old gods to follow this woman to the end of the earth. It was an overwhelming feeling, as if he existed solely for this beautiful woman who had taken his breath away.

"I've never wanted anything more." He said and she turned her hand in his raising it up and he kissed her hand before she took his hand moving through the tight throng of people, his other hand fell to her hips as he pulled her close against his chest as she led him around a corner to where the bathroom was. He turned her around quickly, slamming her against the window, he was enitrely unsure where this passion and wanton feeling came from but he didn't want to escape it and never wanted this woman to leave him.

"We need to get inside, don't wanna put on a show." She said between kisses, he lifted her up off the floor not paying attention to the chants and whistles coming from the perverts inside the bar. She wrapped her legs around hist waist and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him, if the simple act of putting his tongue in her mouth nearly had him coming like a teenager experiencing their first sexual encounter, he could imagine what it would be like once he got inside her.

It would be heaven.

"You're beautiful." He saId as he worked on his belt to get his pants down, he would have fucked her right there. He would have worshipped her, he would have licked her from head to toe leaving no crevice in her perfect body untouched, he would have forgotten everything and everyone in that moment. Instead a man in a pin striped suit appeared out of thin air slipping one arm around her waist and yanking her off of Shadow with what he could only later describe as the power of a God. There was no way he was letting her go, he pulled her back to him and he only released her when he realized who was trying to separate him from the only things that ever mattered in his entire life.

"Mr. Nancy?" Shadow said, some of the blood rushing back up to his head. His head began to spin as he looked from the love of his life to his boss's old friend. For a second he swore he saw the man's face open in an inhuman way, as if his jaws retracted and folded in on one another, and he thought he saw a few extra eyes on his face but when he blinked it was all gone.

"Excuse me for cutting in." Nancy said and tightened his grip on the woman.

"Give her back." Shadow demanded, he'd never wanted anything more than her in his entire life. If he could have her, if she would have him, for just a few moments it felt as if his life would go back to how it was before the craziness. It wasn't just about getting his dick wet, he needed this woman in a way he never had been able to describe before.

"I can't do that, we've got unfinished business." Nancy said as he held the woman against his chest. She didn't fight against him, only stared at him with wide, frightened brown eyes.

"She hasn't done anything!" Shadow yelled.

"You're very welcome that I made sure she didn't, I swear you were late on the day they were handing out common sense." Nancy said and did a quick spin leaving behind only a black, green and gold stripped hat, he disappeared and left Shadow alone in the bathroom with his erection and a lot to think about. Shadow looked in the mirror at himself, at the berry colored lipstick on his face and around his collar and then back at the rest of the bathroom that remained untouched. Maybe he was just crazy, that was so much more easy to deal with than his boss's friend had just kidnapped a lovely woman, poofed them both out of the restroom and he hadn't even given Shadow the chance to get her name. After a respectable amount of time he exited the bathroom to see that nothing had changed, the people were still drinking, dancing and chatting and he was no longer in the mood to be apart of that crowd. He made his way back to the car unsure what to call what had just happened.

"It's fucking crazy is what it is." He said as he headed to the car.

* * *

"You've lost your damn mind haven't you?" Anansi said as he dropped her onto the floor of the abandoned shack. He had been keeping a close eye on Wednesday's son, he knew the boy was a few donuts short of a dozen and he knew the New Gods were going to come for him hard and fast. Anansi hadn't expected to see Bilquis strut inside the bar and nearly seduce the boy out of his existence. He was faced with two choices, let the boy die or intervene. Wednesday would be ok with the boy digging hinself out of that hole but call Anansi soft-hearted, he didn't have the stomach to watch the boy disappear in three minutes or less.

"I didn't see you." She said face down on the floor of the old shack. The landing had been shaky and he had landed on his feet but the way she shook and fought against him during their impromptu field trip he hadn't been able to keep a good grip on her.

"Wednesday would murder you if he knew what the hell you just tried."

"You mean send you to do it." Bilquis snapped as she pushed herself off the floor.

"If he sent me you know you'd never see it coming." He said, there was so much left unsaid between the two. She had seen his handy work, hell, she had hired him for some of it. Bilquis knew he was dangerous but never expected him to turn his ire at her. Sure she had seen the man ruffled, but never thought she'd see him pissed off at her.

"Shadow is a target."

"So you have the right to take him out? Is that it?" Anansi asked, "Are you even using your head?"

"You don't get to talk to me like that, you don't know the sacrifices I had to make." Bilquis said with tears in her eyes.

"So this is what they got you doing? Using you like a goddamn mouse trap--" Before he could move she had raised her hand to strike him, he ripped the jacket of his pinstriped golden and green suit as two extra sets of arms shots out and stopped her, one grabbing her arm, the other gripping her chin and tilting her head so she was forced to look at him.

"I'm not little Anansi anymore, there's no Nyame in America to stop me," He said, he tried not to stare at her too long. Oh, he knew all too well the pull she had over anyone with two brain cells in semi-annual rotation. Even Gods had their weaknesses, and they had been friends once upon time, it was the only thing stopping him from laying hands on her. Oh, it hurt to even think of hurting her. A million visions passed in front of him, he saw her as a Queen, as a beggar, as a Goddess, as someone he had fallen for the moment he saw her. That might have been a long time ago, but that didn't mean he could look at her and not have some sympathy for her, years of friendship couldn't be washed away so easily. "You know what I could do."

"I do." She said, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Something uncomfortable gnawed at his middle, the moment anyone laid eyes on her they were doomed to a life of subjugation. He had seen slavery first hand in the Americas and had seen the effects of it, how it's rippling effect affected his own people to this very day, but being tied to such a woman, to a Goddess in such a way was worse than systemic slavery, it was as exhausting but it was exciting in the worst way. You could hate white people for what they had done, but could he hate Bilquis? It hurt to even consider hating her. He'd done his fair share of murder and conquest in the name of the All-Father lately, he'd killed smaller, weaker, younger Gods but never one of their own. Could he still call her that? Was she one of them or had she made her choice. "You left first."

"When Nyame says move you don't plant your feet."

"I thought Nyame could stop you no more." She said and he slid his hand down her chin wrapping it around her throat, she was testing him and he was getting to his wits end. A part of him considered that maybe she wanted him to do it, she wouldn't have to abide to old Gods if Anansi gobbled her up himself."I came to America to save myself, they'll always be after me, after my power."

"I didn't come here by _choice,_ I was carried here, I made the best of it."

"So did I but things don't always work out for the best, do they? You should know that, you know all the stories, you know mine, you know what I wanted most."

"I do." Anansi said trying not to give in, she was a Queen, and worst of all she was their Queen. Once upon a time they had been something to one another, it was a simpler times when tribute and sacrifice were bountiful and he'd gladly cross entire continents on eight legs to visit her, to sit with her and tell her stories, hearing her laugh or seeing her smile was more than enough and well worth the scorching summers and freezing winters. Now things were different, they were on the brink of war, and he knew very well what side she was on, she was on her own damn side. He dropped his hands and turned his back to her unsure what else to do, he only wanted to help and killing her wouldn't help, not himself and damn sure not Wednesday.

"You're letting me go?" She asked, she always seemed so sure of herself but she sounded genuinely surprised. He was glad that he was still able to confuse the Queen but sad he couldn't let her go. What would Nyame think of him if he could see this? The old man was probably laughing at him right now.

"Stay the hell away from Shadow." Anansi said. He felt her hand on his back, she didn't have to say it because he knew she was grateful.

"Thank you, Kwaku Anansi," She said.

"I mean it." Anansi said trying to ignore her soft thanks and touches. She was a Queen, she didn't have to address him but she did, it made drawing lines in the sand even harder.

"I know you mean it." She said."I'll see you around."

"You mean on the battlefield."

"I've never step foot on a battlefield, I don't plan to now ." She said and left, he was more than sure he'd have to come up with a good story for Wednesday. He was pretty sure by now Shadow had told the man what had happened. Shit was getting to big, too fast, they were coming to the eye of a very dangerous storm that threatened to swallow them all alive.

* * *

Wednesday left a do not disturb sign on the door and honestly as the hours passed while he waited in the car he began to question if any of this was real at all. Shadow hadn't been getting the amount of sleep he should have, and it was too fantastic to actually have been true. Still, that woman was burned into his frontal lobe. What was her name? When could he see her again? Those were some of his last thoughts as he drifted off to sleep.

He jumped from his sleep, he wasn't sure what it was but when he closed his eyes he was in the car alone and when he woke up Mr. Nancy was in the car and appeared to be replacing the feather on his hat.

"What did you see?"

"Wait. What? Were you there before? What did you do to that woman?"

"She's not a woman." Anansi said and continued to tug at the feather on his hat, "She's an old God, or she was, shit I don't know anymore. The point is she's not human.."

"You know her name?"

"Her name isn't important." Anansi said but Shadow got the feeling that the old man knew her name, he was Anansi and if there was one thing he knew about the man it was that he loved a good story, for any story to be good you had to know the characters and Shadow knew the old man knew every last one. 

"Want to tell me about her?"

"Not particularly." He said, "I do want you to stay away from her."

"I can't." Shadow said instinctively. He had to find her, to get to her but he had a deal with Wednesday too. He didn't figure the old man would understand if he took off in the middle of the night looking for a mysterious woman.

"You've done a lot of things people said you couldn't do. But other people aren't telling you, I'm telling you this. Stay away from her if you want to live."

"I... What do you know about her?" Shadow asked suspiciously.

"Enough to know she's dangerous."

"So why didn't you kill her?"

"What?" Anansi asked, he cut his eyes at Shadow as if he had asked him to do something he hadn't done before.

"I didn't stutter." Shadow said and Anansi was on him quicker than he could take his next breath. Shadow could barely breath but managed to choke out, "You love...her...too."

"Stay away from her, or I'll kill you and there won't be a reason for no damn war." Anansi said getting out the car slamming the door. Shadow sat in the car massaging his throat, he was unsure how such a thin man had so much strength. He didn't have to wonder too long because it wasn't long before Wednesday was tapping on teh glass.

"What happened?"

"Nothing" Shadow said as he looked at the rear view mirror, there was a tiny spider watching him closely. Even if he wanted to tell Wednesday he wouldn't be able to.

"You look scared shitless, what do you mean nothing."

"I just... I miss my wife." He said, he knew it was a lie but knew Wednesday didn't want to broach the subject of Laura again.

"You'll get over it." Wednesday said and patted him on the shoulder, "Now keep it down, I'm trying to woo the girl up there."

"Right, if that's what the kids are calling it." Shadow said and slouched down in the front seat of the car. It had been the first time in a while that he thought about Laura. Maybe it was best that he stayed away, if she followed him again and she found heimwith that woman it was no telling what might happen. Shadow loved Laura but knew what might happen if she caught Shadow with that woman, and the way Anansi looked at him there was no telling what he might do if one hair was harmed on that woman's head.

He always thought Anansi was comically detached, Anansi seemed more in love with telling the stories than living in the moment of them. He wondered if that woman knew how much that man cared. He'd never heard the man raise his voice too loud, unless he was laughing, but he was sure Anansi might have snapped his neck in that moment. There was something eating at that old man and it was deeper than the war. As Shadow's eyes slipped close again he opened his mouth to speak, "Tell him I understand... I'm sorry...or whatever...just go."


	5. Best Laid Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilquis is supposed to meet up with Shadow but runs into Mr. Nancy instead, was it an accident or planned?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some (light imo) graphic language as I was trying to channel both Book Nancy and TV Nancy which came to a weird mix of poetic profanity. You can skip it if you're not a fan of curse words.

Bilquis’ head snapped in the direction of the laughter. It had been many years since she heard the rich, sweet sound of Anansi’s laugh. Gods didn’t end up in the same one horse town and in the same dive bar by coincidence. He was here and he wanted to talk, she sat at the bar and continued to eavesdrop on his conversation.

“Alright, alright, here’s the story. Once upon a time there was a fucking Queen. She wasn’t your run of the mill fine ass woman either.” He said and she heard his chair scoot across the floor, only the soft playing country song filled the room. That’s what Anansi did, he told stories and made you want to listen and not miss one single syllable. “Kings waged wars in her name, Gods went head to head for a single kiss.

"But what did she look like?” One of the patrons asked.

“Man, what did she look like? A big ass you could bounce quarters off of and titties so high you ain’t got nowhere else to look but right at them, thick lips and thick hips, small feet and always in something see through.” Bilquis wanted to turn around and correct him but correcting him meant letting him know that she was here and that meant letting him win, and if there’s one thing Kwaku Ananse didn’t need it was another win under his belt.

“You sound like you knew her well.” Another man said and the bar broke out in laughter.

“I did, we knew one another, or that’s how the bible would put it.” Anansi said and the bar erupted in a chant for more. They wanted to know more about the Queen, about Bilquis, and he was egging her on silently. Most of the patrons of the bar, both male, female and everything in between, were drunk and probably thought he was lying. Only two people knew he was telling the truth and it was his way of talking to her, of forcing her to face him.

“What was the pussy like?” Someone called out.

“Not that great, to be quite honest.” He said and the room erupted in laughter one last time before dispersing and moving back to their own tables. He had gotten to her, had gotten the best of her and she finally turned around to search him out only to find him a few feet from her.

“That’s a lie and you know it.” She said and tossed her drink back, she swung her hair back and stared at him out the corner of her eye as he saddled up beside her.

“So the Queen arrives.” He said and looked to the bartender, he was pale with too many tattoos, muscles and too much facial hair. “A bottle of jack, please.”

“The whole bottle?” He asked.

“Did I stutter motherfucker?” He said and the man turned around to grab a bottle and placed two shot glasses between them both and smirked at the woman.

“Take it back, now.” She demanded.

“Take a walk with me and I might spin another story for the people.”

“Take a walk with you? You’re Wednesday’s man, I might get struck down if I step outside with you.” She said and continued to nurse her screwdriver.

“Don’t be like that, girl.” He said and the bartender looked at Nancy and then the spiders that crawled out of the sleeve of his yellow and green shirt, carrying a hundred dollar bill on their backs. He cracked open the bottle and began to guzzle it, “You’ve missed me, I can see it, that’s a story in itself.”

“I’ve missed you like I miss having an extra hole in my head.” She said but didn’t find herself meaning it. Oh, she missed him, his stories, his laughter that made everyone around him laugh. There were so many reasons to love and hate the man, but for her sake, self preservation and sanity it was better to keep with this banter. Besides, Nancy loved banter.

“Don’t forget that I’m more than just a good storyteller.” He said and sat down on the stool beside her. “I’m a good listener too.”

“Cut the bullshit,” She said and slid off the stool and stood between his legs, she placed her hands on the tops of his thighs, massaging them as she looked in his eyes and moved as close as she could. As he had brazenly told the entire dive bar, they had known each other once, this was much more tame than the things they had done. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for a fucking Queen.” He said, he had leaned down and whispered it as if it were a secret. But she was no fool, the walls had ears and with all these apps that the humans were absolutely in love with there was no doubt who was recording what.

“You’ve got Ostara.” She said and pulled back from him, he nodded his head and smiled a dazzling smile before raising the bottle of jack to his lips again.

“I said I was looking for a fucking Queen, not Wednesday.” He said and she froze as she felt his phantom arm reach out and grab her arm, the humans couldn’t see it and neither could she but she could feel them. He had two extra sets of hidden arms that were only visible when he wanted them to be. He wanted her to stop touching him, distracting him, making him feel things that made it hard to discuss business, it was nice to know she could still get to him at his basest needs.

“That the name he goes by now?”

“It works, most days.”

“What do you want with me, Kwaku Ananse.” She said, she wasn’t one for small talk and the longer they did this the longer the chance she would miss her target.

“Am I sensing an attitude? I didn’t come crawling between your legs just now.”

“Oh, there was a time when you begged to crawl between my legs.” She said and cut her eyes to the bartender to who was casually eavesdropping as he reached over and grabbed the two untouched shot glasses.

“Well this ain’t that, now is it?” He said, she had to agree that times had indeed change. If they hadn’t she wouldn’t have fallen on such hard times, wouldn’t have found herself in a dive bar waiting to kill Wednesday’s man. Oh it wouldn’t be a sacrifice at all and she got the feeling Anansi knew that. “What are you doing here, Makeda?”

“We’ve all got a price to pay. You pay yours with Wednesday everyday.”

“And you? This your price?” He said looking around the dive bar for a moment before looking back at her, his eyes never leaving hers.

“I’ve done worse.” She said, “Or I would have, if you hadn’t showed up.”

“Just what are you implying?” He said placing his hand over his chest as if he were suddenly shy or bashful. When had the man ever been any of those things? Still, the gesture put a smile on her face, he’d put off the New Gods and bought her a bit more time of staying off Wednesday’s warpath.

“You planned this.”

“I’m just an old man who wants a good drink and a beautiful woman for the night, looks like I got my hands full with both.” He said and slipped his visible arm around her waist pulling her closer. “You know I’m not good with planning things, never been big on secrets.”

“Of course not, you wouldn’t know anything about keeping a secret.”

“Interested in that walk now?” He asked.

“Not in the slightest.” She said, “You may have saved Shadow but I don’t trust Wednesday like you do.”

“Why would I trust Wednesday?” He said. “Besides, I can’t just throw on a wig, sunglasses and a head scarf and ride across the sunset to a new life. This is war, real war, couldn’t get away if I wanted to.”

“Why did you come here again? I would have known if Shadow wasn’t coming.”

“Been a long time since we seen each other, would hate if the last time was on the battlefield.” He said.

“I have no intention of ever setting foot on a battlefield.”

“Of course not.” He said, to the people that passed them or shimmied around them to get to their drinks they looked like two doe eyed individuals too scared to make the next move. They were just looking at one another as another lazy country love song blared on in the bar, but to the trained eye they were sizing each other up, waiting for the shoe to drop. “You’re too good for that, aren’t you?”

“I know where I’m best suited, don’t you?”

“You said something about being between your legs earlier, didn’t you?” He said and expected her to at least raise her hand to him she only gave him a piercing look and took the bottle of Jack Daniels from him and guzzled it, never once breaking eye contact with him. The way she wrapped her lips around the bottle brought back brazen, wanton memories of a time long before the New Gods, Wednesday and Shadow. It was a time when he could come to her for solid advice and healing in a way the world would never truly understand. 

“We’ll see where the night takes us.”


	6. Babysitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilquis thinks Shadow is adorable and Nancy thinks the exact opposite. While watching over their target at night they're left with free time, and there's nothing Nancy hates more than silence.

“He’s precious.”

“He’s stupid.”

“He’s …sweet.” Bilquis said as they watched over Shadow. He had fallen asleep after a rant about being free to walk the streets wherever he wanted. When Shadow realized that Mr. Nancy wasn’t going to budge and that Bilquis was helpless to do anything else, he laid down and fell into a fitful sleep. He’d been asleep for two hours now, tossing and turning every few moments muttering about his mother before pulling the blanket tighter across his chest. The only light in the room came from the dull glow of the telelvision that was playing static but it hadn’t bothered them. 

“Yeah, a sweet damn fool.” Wednesday said and leaned back on the two legs of the chair, balancing it with his long legs. “Who else would get mixed up with Wednesday?”

“You.” She said sat on the couch across the room near the door. 

“I’m not a fool.” He said and lowered all four legs of the chair to the ground and stood up. He walked across the room to where the mini-fridge was humming, he opened it and pulled out two of the beers there. “I’m playing my cards close to my chest.”

“Too close.” She said.

“Need a drink?”

“I don’t _need_ a drink, but it looks like you do, what happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I remember when you were–”

“We can argue tonight,” He said as he crossed the small room to her side and laid down beside her,  in one fell swoop he removed his hat, kicked his feet over the edge of the leather couch and held out one of the beers to her. “Or, we could trade stories.”

“Is that what the kids are calling it?” Bilquis said and opened both their bottles and handed one to him. 

“Been a long time since we did _that_.” He said. 

“What story were you going to tell me?”

“Me? Why do I always have to tell the stories?”

“Well you are… Kwaku Ananse.” She said. 

“I’m a very tired spider, Bilquis.” He said and tilted his head back.

“You should rest your eyes.”

“Around you?” He questioned.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” She asked after gulping her beer. 

“I’m not just watching wonderboy over there, I’m keeping an eye on you.” He said,  his eyes slipped closed as she ran her fingers through his hair, there were very few people he let touch him, let alone felt comfortable letting touch his hair. She was a woman so that gave her special privileges, but she was a woman and a God he’d known for a very long time and he was closer to her than the others. Still, she had chosen herself throughout all of this  and regardless of how she hung around he couldn’t trust her how he wanted. Still, it was nice to be touched by her, she had a restoring and healing touch in ways he couldn’t begin to explain. 

“I guess now is as good as a time to start as any.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He asked, he’d kept an eye on her as long as he could. 

“When was the last time we talked?”

“We’re talking now.”

“You know what I mean, when was the last time we met up and had a drink.”

“You’re a Queen, what was I supposed to do? Just show up at your temple, not to mention what the old man might think about me doing that.” Anansi said, he had a knack for making everything sound casual or like a joke but she could tell he was offended, she’d known him too long to take that slight hitch in his voice as anything but offense. If he hadn’t been offended he wouldn’t have brought up Nyame, that was a sensitive subject. 

“Well, I wanted to see you.” BIlquis said and he hated that he found himself wanting to believe she was telling the truth. Her cloying voice and eyes that sparkled like stars made it easy for her to say anything and make people believe it.  

“You don’t have to lie, you  just missed my stories.”

“Not just the stories.” She said and he looked up at her for a moment searching her face but he didn’t find any hint of distrust or any humor, she actually meant it. “I missed you too.”

“What game are you playing?”

“No games this time, we’re past that. We’re at war.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know which side you’re on.” He said and she leaned down placing a soft kiss on his lips. He should have told her to keep her lips to herself, or at least tried to stop her but she tasted like honey and smelled like home. America had been a pisspoor substitute for his home; he missed the fruit, the people the language and mainly the stories. So instead of pushing her away he basked in her and this moment, she was sweet, soft and so familiar in a time where he found himself feeling like a spider in quicksand. 

 Anansi sat the beer down on the floor and pulled back for a second just to sit up, he slipped one arm around her and pulled her into his lap. He would have kissed her, would have reacquainted himself with her body and chanced a second exile just to be close to her again had he not seen Shadow staring at them both oddl from beneath the cover. “What are you looking at?”

“Thought I was dreaming.”

“You dream about me?” Anansi said.

“I didn’t… It wasn’t…” Shadow turned over and faced away from them, “I’m not looking you can keep going.”

“Right.” Anansi said and moved to kiss her but she pulled back. 

“Need to keep an eye on him, can’t do that if we’re busy.” Bilquis said and crawled out of his lap and made her way back over to her side of the couch. Anansi looked to Bilquis and then glared angrily at Shadow’s back before finally standing up and pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. 

“Wake up, I’m in the mood for the story.” Nancy said and kicked the end of the bed before returning to his chair on the far side of the room.

“Is it the one where we all sat silently and nothing happened while I slept?”

“No, it’s one about Odin. You’re going to love it.” He said and settled into his chair, “A loooooong time ago there was a very old man, born ten seconds before dirt itself, with a very simple dream…” Nancy said starting a tale about Odin until Shadow found himself covering his ears with a pillow, he’d barely made it half way through the story when he heard Shadow snoring. “See, no respect.”

“You can be particularly cruel, that’s not a very good story. It would put many people to sleep.” Bilquis said as she continued to nurse her beer. 

“You’re still awake.”

“I’m to keep an eye on him.”

“And me too.”

“For a much different reason than you think.” Bilquis said and gave him a heated look. He wasn’t sure what she was up to and what he had to do with it but he would have a hell of a fun time figuring out and that would be a good story in itself. 

“Ever tell you what Nyame did to me when he found out about that night we spent together at the Capital?”

“No, please do.” She said and so he did. They shared stories from across the room as it was safer to do so, Shadow may have stopped whatever was about to be rekindled between them but it was probably for the best. Until he was sure what Bilquis wanted. besides to be the motherfucker running things again, he’d need to keep an lustless eye on her which was harder than it sounded. As the stories came to an end and the sun began to peak through the closed curtain Bilquis stood over Shadow smiling down at at him. “Suns rising, should we wake him?”

“Let him sleep, he’s got a hell of a lot of the world to face.” Anansi said as he leaned back on the  back two legs of the chair, he rocked back and forth to steady his nerves. He wished he was in his shop right now, that way he could keep his hand instead of fiddling with the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. 

“That is true.” She said and stepped back, walking over to stand in front of Anansi. 

“I’m out of stories.”

“No stories then.” She said and picked the bottle up off the floor from between his legs. “How has America treated you?”

“Trying to recruit me?” He said with a brilliant smile on his face.

“Trying to be a friend.”

“Have enough friends.”

“Wednesday isn’t a good friend.”

“Wednesday isn’t my friend.”

“What about me then? You watch me like a hawk, like you expect me to take flight. I told you I’m done with them, I’m working with you.”

“Yes, with me, but for yourself.”

“People can change, Anansi.”

“People can. Gods can’t..” Anansi said and sat the chair down on all fours again. “What do you want? I mean really want.”

“I want a temple, and worshippers again, and I want to not be hunted everywhere I go. You’re the only man who’s ever…” The words died on her lips as she walked over to the plastic waste basket. 

“The only man who ever what? You know I hate half finished stories.”

“You’re not hunting me, you never wanted that from me.” She said and made her way back in front of him. 

“Because I’m not a damn fool, Bilquis. Look at you girl, all those Kings and Gods that tried to take that from you, where are they? Dead or forgotten. A wise man knows when he’s lost and no one goes to the house of the spider to teach it wisdom.” He stood up and stretched before walking over to her, “You’re never not gonna be who you are, or were, or who the hell you’re always going to be. You’re a fucking Queen.”

“Doesn’t feel like it.” She said and folded her arms across her chest.

“I didn’t say you were a patient one.” He said and placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “But you’re still a fucking Queen, don’t forget that.”

“And you’re still Kwaku Anansi.”

“I’ll always be me, a little spider with a story to tell.” He said bitterly.

“Is that what you tell the Americans?” She said and stared up at him with those damned stars in her eyes, if she had asked him to kill Shadow right now he would do it. Anything to keep that look of wonder and amazement on her face, not that she would believe him anyway. He wasn’t just a story teller, he had tricked his fair share of people. 

“It works.” He said and stepped back and looked over to the bed where Shadow was staring at both of them.

“Good Morning.” Shadow said from underneath the sheets. 

“Get up, you’ve already overslept.” He said and Shadow grumbled about all of Wednesday’s friends before heading into the tiny bathroom.

“You like him, don’t you?” Bilquis said.

“He reminds me of my son, I only give him a hard time because of Wednesday.”

“He doesn’t know?” Bilquis asked.

“Boy doesn’t know a damn thing, wouldn’t know if it bit him in the ass.” 


	7. The Damned Mead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nancy gets in over his head with the Mead, luckily someone is there to help him out and save the day.

Nancy had always been an early riser, he used to rise early to put the sun in the sky each day. Eventually he tired of doing it and left it in the sky, after some negotiation with the Sky Father they both figured it was easy for the sun to rise and set on it's on. Doing the same with the moon had taken a lot more convincing and hard work. Still, the sun was starting to creep through his dusty curtains and he could barely move, even thinking hurt. He tried to rise one more time and gave up, last night he went out with Wednesday and drunk his mead. Nancy remembered everything that happened, but that didn't stop the mead from being a disgusting ancient drunk. His head banged, his mouth tasted awful and he couldn't fucking move, he hadn't even slipped out of his clothes last night.

The sound of heels hitting the floor interrupted his immobilized pity party. The sound was coming towards his bedroom door, he hoped it wasn't that Media bitch trying to pitch yet another idea of how he could remain relevant. Nancy had been around for a long time and had no plans of leaving anytime soon. He sighed and pulled at his tie and remembered that his suit was probably wrinkled now, he stumbled inside last night, barely making it to the bedroom after emptying his bladder. Fuck, the sound of those heels were coming closer and closer. The sound stopped right outside his door and then his bedroom door creaked open.

"Shit, it's you." He said, he hadn't expected the Goddess of Love to be the one creeping around his place.

"Miss me?" She asked, she was dressed in a comfortable blouse, jeans and of course those loud ass shoes he could hear a block away. Her hair tumbled down her back in loose curls, he remembered when it had been different, much thicker. Still, it looked good on her all the same.

"Glad you can come down off your throne and pedal stool to see me every now and then."

"Should I just leave you in this condition?" She asked, he looked down at himself, half his body on the floor and the other half sprawled across his King sized bed. So, maybe he better play his card right so she wouldn't leave him like this.

"I'm fine."

"You look like you've been drinking," She said and narrowed her eyes staring closely at him before folding her arms and sighing, it was almost like the damned woman was looking into his past with those eyes of hear, they were dark browned but twinkled like the night sky, "With Wednesday."

"Why Wednesday?" He asked, it was a valid question. After all, he always liked to drink, not just with Gods. Humans could be pretty damn interesting once you got a few drinks in them.

"I can smell the mead, I'm surprised there's not a young woman underneath you." Bilquis said and finally made her way across his large bedroom to help him.

"Jealousy is one of the few things that don't look good on you."

"I'm not jealous of anything, especially you." She said and started by getting him in the bed, swinging his long legs over the bed and tugging him gently until he was situated in the middle of the bed. "Not in this condition anyway."

"Laugh it up." He said, his head began to bang again.

"No need to, this is funny enough." She said and began to undo his tie, she tossed it to the edge of the bed and began to work on his shirt.

"Why are you here at all?" He asked, it was rare that he was the one being undressed. This time the tables were turned but he didn't find himself hating it.

"Outside of saving you?"

"Yes, outside of that."

"Maybe I missed you."

"Yeah right, you miss me like you miss the plague." He said, yes that plague had put quite a damper on her sacrifices.

"I mean it." She said and looked him in the eyes, while she worked on his pants. She pulled off his shoes and finally his pants leaving him in bed and all his clothes at the far end of the bed. He was left in a white t-shirt and his boxers, but it was nice for his skin to be able to breathe again.

"Go in my drawer and grab me the vials with green and blue stuff in it." He said and she did as he asked, she returned from the far side of the room with two vials. He drank the green one first and then the blue, Bilquis stood at the foot of the bed arranging his clothes when she saw the man begin to stretch his muscles and crack his bones. "You needed something, didn't you."

"No." She said and sat at the foot of the bed. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"I don't doubt that." He said and then put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He sighed and finally admitted the truth, "Wednesday and I were drinking."

"Of course you were." Bilquis said and shook her head. She had always advised him against drinking with Wednesday, the man could drink with the best of them but unlike everyone else he could roll out of bed and be just fine

"And he brought you up, he wanted to know how you were doing."

"Don't you mean how I'd be of use to him?" She asked.

"Just tell me one thing."

"What?" She asked but she didn't look pissed or disappointed, he hoped his next questions didn't change that.

"They didn't send you here, did they?" He asked, he knew she owed them big time and hoped that he wasn't the cost of it. He'd hate to be the reason she was cut down or sent back to poverty living with no temple again.

"I said I missed you, and I meant it. The war is coming and... I don't want our last words to have been bad ones." Bilquis said, yes, their last fight back in

"Are you staying for breakfast?" He asked, he didn't want to talk about that, he wanted to think about something much more important than the last time they talked. They had said unforgivable things to each other, words that couldnt be taken back and only time could heal those wounds.

"Sure."

"So what are you making me?" He asked, he could barely move, did she expect him to cook? It would be a while before the medicine took it's full affect, doing away with whatever the devilish mead was doing to him. She looked shocked at first and then only smiled at him. It was good that things were getting back to normal, or as close to normal as they could possbily get.

"You still haven't changed, I like that." She said, "And I doubt you would want to cook what I eat. I'm not used to doing such things."

"Once a Queen, always a Queen." He muttered under his breath.

"Well it's good you're still familiar with the title."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never been big on sick/comfort fics but the idea of Bilquis helping him out is very cute. I kinda imagine him not being too happy about it at first but then taking advantage of her helping him but Bilquis would know all along.


	8. Worship me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations between old friends led to drinks, drinks led to dancing and dancing always led to them on top of one another like this.

“You have so many names.” Bilquis said as she straddled his waist, this was a nice change of pace to what they normally got up to. Then again he was an old man now, he wasn’t the young spiderling he had been once. He’d fallen in and out of favor with the Sky Kingdom and all of it’s nobles too many times to count but he still had her, they had this. He had grabbed her as Wednesday suggested, she hadn’t appreciated it at first but soon found herself forgiving him. Conversations between old friends led to drinks, drinks led to dancing and dancing always led to them on top of one another like this.

It was funny, and it was nice to laugh during such a tumultuous time in their Godhood. So they laid like that on the floor for a minute, surrounded by cracked tumblers and spilled alcohol laughing like they weren’t hiding from both old gods and new ones alike. Bilquis stared down at him as she played with the buttons on his shirt.

“I do.”

“Which one is your favorite?" She asked. 

“Whichever one is easiest for you to scream.”

“Come on be serious.” she said and played with his purple tie, unloosening it before tossing it over her shoulder. 

“Being serious has aged me faster than I thought.” He said and looked up at light hanging above her head. His bones shouldn't ache, and crack, he shouldn't be  
nearly as gray and he definitely shouldn't have to feel the effects of their roughhousing tomorrow, but then he would, he knew he would but he preferred it like this anyway. “We might not win this war.”

“You didn’t used to be so complacent.”

“The world didn’t used to be so bad, and you know the shit I’ve done, shit has to be really bad for me to call it bad.”

“You were Ananse.” She said remembering the chill that ran down her spine at his name. He was the Spider God, keeper of stories and a great diplomat and liar. He put the stars in the sky, kept fruit in the trees, and tamed the ocean so that it remained friendly and yielded so much fun and fish for his people. The Americans didn't know that, they didn't remember the stories, things had definitely changed. 

“I’m still Ananse, just old, America has a way of beating on you. I’d think you’d understand that.” Nancy said and Bilquis found herself nodding her head even if she didn't want to. This country had stolen her crown but she was going to get it back, things were going to change. 

“I never gave up.” She said and popped open two buttons on his shirt. 

“I’m not giving up.” He said, “It’s just hard when people forget.”

“So make them remember.” She said. 

“Folks aren’t sitting by the fireside anymore.”

“You’re Ananse, you said I knew what you were like, so show them.” She said as she finished undoing the buttons on his shirt. 

“I’ll need a little pick me up.” He said and slid his hands up her shirt, she raised her arms over her head. He tugged the shirt off, tossing it somewhere across the room, and a set of invisible hands popped open her bra. 

“Nyame does not agree with what I do.” Bilquis said, his father may not have been around often but he was watching these events unfold. Bilquis was more than sure Nancy knew that, if anyone knew how to piss off the Sky father it was him. She took off the bra fling it across the room with wherever her shirt was. 

“Nyame and I haven’t talked in years.”

“Ananse, you know you’ll be marked, he may not be so forgiving.” She said as she leaned down to kiss him. She felt an extra pair of arms wrap around her back pulling her down so they were chest to chest. 

“Less about Sky father and more worshipping me.” He said and so she did, with her lips she spoke his name to life, she praised him as she kissed and sucked his neck. She blessed his lips from which all stories and life came from, she placed his fingers inside her and blessed every last one for these were the same hands that put the sun, moon, and stars into orbit. He placed each finger in her mouth, having her say each name of his names, praising every last one. As she rode him to what felt like oblivion, he didn’t have to think about Wednesday or his dumb ass son, there was no war, there was just the Goddess of Love who would expect recompense for this blessing and he'd gladly give it to her. 

“You’ve been marked.” She said as she lay down beside him. He touched the left side of his chest and felt the slightly raised Mark in a language that had long since been forgotten. 

“So have you.” He said, and traced the mark of the spider on her left breast, he gave it a loving squeeze enjoying the peel of laughter she released. 

“Still feeling old?”

“Old enough to get the job done.” He said and rolled on top of her, “How many names do you have?”

“Enough.”

“Anyone you prefer?”

“Sheba. It… it rolls off the tongue nicely.”

“That it does.” He said and looked down at his own chest again, they were in this for the long run. “Guess we’re in this for good.”

“Yes, I like it better this way. There’s something about you being mad at me… it made me uncomfortable.”

“Pfftt, like you cared.” He said and nuzzled her neck, enjoying that high pitched yelp of pleasure. She wrapped her arms his middle and kissed him one more times. 

“We’re still friends?"

“Never heard anything truer than that


	9. Two Strangers Meet at a Bar... A Coffee Bar.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coffee Shop AU, because it's not a real ship if your two faves don't meet in a coffee shop. Although the reasons they're meeting are a lot more sinister than initially intended.

“I need something strong and black.” Nancy said as he sat down at the nearly empty coffee bar. It was early morning hours when the earth still didn’t feel complete, things crept through the darkness after him and he wasn’t ready to face them yet without a cup of coffee. Instead a woman saddled up beside him at the bar. “And the heavens answer my prayers.”

“You must be a hit with everyone if you go around saying that.” The woman said, she had yet to look up from her phone but he was the only one in here, she must have been talking to him. 

“Oh, you have no idea.” He said, any hint of fatigue disappeared at the possibility of having someone to talk to and hide from the terrible things in the night. “Friends call me Nancy.”

“You can’t be local with a name like that.”

“Anyone ever tell you how positively charming you are at three in the morning?” Nancy asked and looked around, the Barista must have been in the back but he needed something now. 

“… And done.” She said as she put the finishing marks on her text message. “Now what were you going on about?”

“How hard it is to get a cup of something black and strong.”

“Ah, yes.” She said and peered around the corner into the back of the shop. “I’m Bilquis.”

“Like the Queen?”

“I prefer the term goddess.”

“You must be fun at parties.” Nancy said as the Barista stepped out of the back of the shop and took both of their orders. 

“Not as much of a party animal as I once was.”

“You’re too beautiful to not be at someone’s party.”

“And why aren’t you out? You seem like you’d be a hit with a few people in this city.”

“Breezing through Chicago for now, it’s just business.” 

“All work and no play could you make Nancy a very dull old man.”

“No one could ever accuse me of being boring.”

“So what do you do?”

“I reclaim illegally claimed property.”

“Like the IRS?”

“Something like that.” Nancy said as he took a sip of coffee, it was just what he needed to get him through the night.

“Sounds illegal.” Bilquis said and Nancy remained quiet, only the sound the Barista fussing with his cups and espresso machine could be heard. It was very illegal and there was no need to pull this woman into his dangerous lifestyle. “Sounds fun.”

“Our love goddess likes to get her hands dirty?” Nancy said and smirked, some women thought the idea of him breaking someone’s arm or hanging someone out of the thirty-fourth story window was a turn on, others avoided men like him like the plague. He could see Bilquis was straddling the line of fear and morbid curiosity. 

“My latest husband has become a problem.” Bilquis said once the Barista returned to the back of the shop once more. 

“So you’re the one Wednesday told me about.” Nancy said, when he heard there was another black widow who need a mess cleaned he hadn’t expected her. She seemed much too young to be making such discrete messes, but that wasn’t his business, he was the spider and had over eight ways to make people disappear without many families being any wiser, this just cut out some of the hard work.

“Yes.” She said, there was no guilt in her eyes, no shame, this almost seemed normal for her. For men like him these were the type of women he attracted, as friends and as lovers. 

“He says this isn’t the first husband that’s had to disappear.”

“Maybe I have terrible taste in men.” Bilquis said, “I can handle my own work, I just need you to get rid of the body.”

“That’s what I’m good at.” Nancy said and continued to sip his coffee. “After all this is over why don’t you and I get up to something better than coffee at three am?”

“What’s better than coffee at three in the morning?” 

“It’s going to be  _fun_.” Nancy promised as he picked up his phone and looked at the information she sent to him. “Wednesday told you what happens if you cross us, right?”

“He did.” Bilquis said as Nancy stood up, he slid the phone in pocket and picked up the cup of coffee. 

“Your face is too pretty for me to cut up, Bilquis.” 

“I don’t think that will be a problem.” She said, “And you’re not supposed to take the coffee mug.”

“I do whatever I want.” Nancy said and headed back out into the cold and dark windy city. He had a young man to dissolve in acid, it’s a shame since he was such a credit to the growing technological community. 


	10. A fitting story

Sometimes  Shadow will catch Nancy staring at the woman like she's the sun, moon and stars. Shadow wonders if that's how Audrey felt, if she saw the way Shadow had once stared at Laura. The older gentlemen, his boss's old friend, looks completely smitten with the woman. As soon as Shadow thinks he's seen the look it's gone and Mr. Nancy tells Shadow he'll catch flies if he keeps his mouth open like that. Shadow remains silent, saying nothing, only watching closely.  
  
Sometimes he'll come in the room and feel like he's interrupted something. The Love Goddess will look bewildered and flustered, finding an insane excuse to fly from the room. The woman is the poster child for Royalty, she has the walk and attitude, even in silence he knows he has no right to speak to her and is grateful for anytime given. Every second with her is a gift and blessing and she doesn't need to remind them of it. Still Mr. Nancy is given selective treatment, lingering looks and conversations, subtle touches and glances that boils Shadows blood for some reason. Shadow would call it jealouje if he had time for such emotions and if Laura wasn't still in the back of his head.   
  
Shadow thinks maybe he's been making it up, maybe he's been inventing even more incredible events. He let's the thought meld into the rest of the craziness that he has to deal with daily. He steps outside the bar they've all met up at and manages to catch himself before he turns a corner too quickly where they're standing.   
  
"... I thought you stopped smoking these." Nancy said, Shadow heard the lighter struggle to grasp the flame before the sound disappeared altogether.   
  
"Hard not to, sometimes."   
  
"Stressed?"   
  
"No, of course not. This is fine, this is great." She said sarcastically, it was the first time he'd heard the Queen be flippant and it felt wrong. Then again eavesdropping on their conversation was wrong, they were Gods and he might be stoned for doing such a thing. "I want to be chased my entire Godhood."   
  
"If anyone can handle it, it's you." Nancy said.   
  
"Getting soft on me." Bilquis said, her closing voice so damned sweet that Shadow nearly made his way over to them, but was too invested on his newly found skill for eavesdropping.   
  
"Not soft, just honest."   
  
"Hard to believe that coming from you."   
  
"I haven't lied to you so far."   
  
"There's a lot of people in that room you haven't lied to yet, doesn't mean you're not waiting to do it. To catch them with their guard down."   
  
"First, that's too much work and I don't have enough time to sit around waiting to lie to people."   
  
"Your stories say otherwise."   
  
"And you've got the man right here to ask any questions, no need to go on stories that have been passed down and altered for centuries. So ask away."   
  
"Do you love me?" She asked, it seemed as if the entire world fell still for a moment. Shadow felt his heart go out for the old man, whether he answered yes or no his next few answers would be troubling.   
  
"Everyone loves you, girl." He said and Shadow heard the sounds of footsteps coming towards his impromptu hiding spot on the other side of the wall.   
  
"Are you scared of me?" She asked, the footsteps stopped again. Either she stopped him or the question stopped him dead in his tracks.   
  
"Everyone should be."   
  
"Are we going to keep doing this every hundred years?"   
  
"I'm going inside now." Nancy said no longer sounding playful and amused,honestly, he sounded a little pissed off. Nancy turned the corner quickly to find Shadow standing there. Shadow looked around and then began picking at imaginary dirt from under his fingernails.   
  
"Wednesday's ready to go." Shadow said.   
  
"I imagine so." He said and gave Shadow a shaming look. Bilquis came around the corner shortly after him looking just as shocked to see Shadow standing there, draping his arm over her shoulders as she glared at him, so they could both go e home a godly glare. Shadow massaged his temples and finally had the decency to turn away. He wasn't sure what was going on in general but he wondered if Gods fell in love, and if the Queen of Love, who could make anyone fall for her, loved the tricky Spider God, or if they both were playing a dangerous game.   
  
The more time they spent with the duo the more curious Shadow became. The two would disappear and return much later, and Shadow couldn't help but wonder just what the two were doing. True there were bigger, much more exciting things going on but it got the better of him and he finally asked Wednesday.   
  
"Worried for Mr. Nancy?" Wednesday asked.   
  
"No, I just--"   
  
"You're damned right to be." Wednesday said and took another bite of his sandwich. "They have been doing this for years. On and off, sneaking around, even under her husbands noses."   
  
"But she's the Queen of--"   
  
"Does Nancy look like a man who discriminates? He's fucked more married women than I have names." Wednesday said, "But the world didn't used to be like this, sex wasn't a big deal. Falling in love, now that was the fucking ball buster."   
  
"You think he loves her?"   
  
"To be honest I try not to think about it, it might bring about some uncomfortable revelations." Wednesday said and nudged Shadow playfully.   
  
"Does she love him?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"And how do you know?"   
  
"The man is still alive. You don't visit the gates to heaven and then get turned around, every moment with her is a danger to Nancy. He'd never admit to loving her, he's too prideful."   
  
"So you don't know?"   
  
"You're being tiresome, Shadow." Wednesday said and sipped his drink, "Those two love each other. They're friends, they're lovers and now they're being tested. She's specialized in making people love her and he loves a good laugh and is very good at tricking people into exposing themselves."   
  
"So it's a game?"   
  
"They're having their very own war as if this one isn't important enough. Gods don't die, not the human way at least." He said and called over for the check with a quick wave of his hand. "Love is one of the things that don't change, not even with time. They're waiting for it to change, it hasn't."


End file.
